Tag Archives: McDonald’s

Burger Heavyweights Go Greens

1 Reply

McDonald’s enters the veggie burger party

The Globe and Mail ran an interesting article (November 12, subscription required) on the evolution of  Veggie Burgers  at Canadian fast-food outlets. 

Pretty much gone are the faux-beef burgers—think Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods—customers just didn’t like them. In their place are unabashedly veggie burgers, featuring grilled patties of peas, carrots, corn and other standard vegetables.

Industry heavyweights like McDonald’s, A&W and even Burger King are hoping South Asian descendants and local vegetarians will step up to the plate. And the pitches seem to be working, with different iterations of veggie burgers selling out in test markets across Canada.

The Spicy McVeggie Burger

McDonald’s recently unveiled its McVeggie Burger, a crispy, vegetable-dense patty that also comes in a spicy version (preferred). Joining the party is A&W’s longer roster of plant-based burgers, including the Masala Veggie Burger.

A&W’s Masala Veggie Burger

Both burger joints have outlets near me—indeed across the street from each other—making it easy to do a quick taste test. 

My first impression: McDonald’s Spicy McVeggie Burger is bigger, better and cheaper ($6.29), than A&W’s Masala Veggie Burger ($7.29). Neither is going to fill you up, unless you go for the combo meal deal. So no bargains here, other than McDonald’s decent Americano ($2.19). A&W, however, wins the convivial space award, judging by the much larger crowd of mostly seniors.

Verdict: Both burgers are pretty good, but not enough to pull me away from a juicy, real beef burger.

The real deal champion is stilly beefy

Unlock My Chains: The Big 3 Fast-Food Restaurants & Coffee Shops

3 Replies

There's nearly always lineups at Canada's fast-food king, Tim Horton's

There’s nearly always lineups at Canada’s fast-food king, Tim Hortons

I’m all about independent food places and coffee shops. It’s why I write this blog. But I do occasionally sneak into a fast-food chain. Honest, it’s just to use their WiFi connection when I can’t find a local, open coffeehouse and need to locate something or book a last-minute motel, especially if my smart phone is turned off to save roaming charges in the U.S.

As a result, I get to focus my laser-like observation skills on how these chains operate and the coffee lingo used by regulars: a “double-double” (two cream, two sugar) in Canada’s Tim Hortons and, my favourite, a “tall Ethiopian” in Starbucks. Plus, I invariably order a coffee or snack, seeing as how I might be using their WiFi for half an hour and think it’s highly unethical to carry an empty Starbucks’ or McDonald’s cup from place to place to feign a purchase. Really, I’ve hardly ever done that.

The reason the following places are successful is they, like other popular chains, deliver consistency and predictability, with enough new products thrown in to keep the regulars from getting bored. Mind you, when pulled pork, poutine or paninis hits their menus, you know the trend has long since passed. And the stuff is churned out so fast that “made to order” is not in the vocabulary.

Continue reading →